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Extended View (extended + view)
Selected AbstractsFrom generative fit to generative capacity: exploring an emerging dimension of information systems design and task performanceINFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009Michel Avital Abstract Information systems (IS) research has been long concerned with improving task-related performance. The concept of fit is often used to explain how system design can improve performance and overall value. So far, the literature has focused mainly on performance evaluation criteria that are based on measures of task efficiency, accuracy, or productivity. However, nowadays, productivity gain is no longer the single evaluation criterion. In many instances, computer systems are expected to enhance our creativity, reveal opportunities and open new vistas of uncharted frontiers. To address this void, we introduce the concept of generativity in the context of IS design and develop two corresponding design considerations ,,generative capacity' that refers to one's ability to produce something ingenious or at least new in a particular context, and ,generative fit' that refers to the extent to which an IT artefact is conducive to evoking and enhancing that generative capacity. We offer an extended view of the concept of fit and realign the prevailing approaches to human,computer interaction design with current leading-edge applications and users' expectations. Our findings guide systems designers who aim to enhance creative work, unstructured syntheses, serendipitous discoveries, and any other form of computer-aided tasks that involve unexplored outcomes or aim to enhance our ability to go boldly where no one has gone before. In this paper, we explore the underpinnings of ,generative capacity' and argue that it should be included in the evaluation of task-related performance. Then, we briefly explore the role of fit in IS research, position ,generative fit' in that context, explain its role and impact on performance, and provide key design considerations that enhance generative fit. Finally, we demonstrate our thesis with an illustrative vignette of good generative fit, and conclude with ideas for further research. [source] Scan profiles for neutron spectrometers.JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2003The recent development of neutron collimators with rectangular transmission profiles (intensity versus angular divergence) extends hope of improved count rates on neutron scattering instruments. It is usually assumed that a more effective use of beam angular spread in these devices should increase count rates by about a factor of two. However, real beams have both angular and wavevector spread and both these spreads are governed by the allowed collimation. In this extended view, the gains from ideal rectangular-profile elements (angle filters) are shown to be much larger (about a factor of four). The mirror reflections used to achieve the rectangular profiles in real devices complicate the resolution effects. Specifically, the reflections disturb the wavevector,angular divergence correlation in the beams, leading to unusual peak shapes characterized by triple peaks on powder diffractometers. Thus, these reflecting collimators are likely to be universally useful only before the monochromator and immediately preceding the detector, where wavevector,angle correlations have no effect. This reduces the potential gains to a factor of two or so. Note that the gains are as previously expected but for quite different reasons than imagined. This remains a very significant gain in a field where most work is intensity-limited. [source] Assessment of the rind microbial diversity in a farmhouse-produced vs a pasteurized industrially produced soft red-smear cheese using both cultivation and rDNA-based methodsJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2004C. Feurer Abstract Aims:, The diversity of the surface flora of two French red-smear soft cheeses was examined by cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent methods to assess their composition and to evaluate the accuracy of both approaches. Methods and Results:, Culture-independent methods used involved 16S ribosomal DNA gene cloning and sequencing and single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP). The culture-dependent method used involved direct culture and macroscopic observation, polymerase chain reaction of the 16S rRNA gene from DNA extracted from single colonies followed by complete sequencing of the gene. Only few species were recovered by both approaches either in the pasteurized and the farmer cheese. A large diversity of isolates or 16S rDNA sequences related to marine bacteria was identified at the surface of both cheeses. Conclusions:, The results indicated that all three techniques were informative and complementary to allow a more accurate representativeness of the cheese surface biodiversity. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Cultivation and molecular methods have to be combined in order to obtain an extended view of the bacterial populations of complex ecosystems. [source] Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeologyJOURNAL OF RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, Issue 10 2006Ludovic Bellot-Gurlet Abstract This paper gives a short overview of the Special Issue on Raman Spectroscopy in Art and Archaeology, with the papers collected after the ,3rd International Conference on the Application of Raman Spectroscopy in Art and Archaeology' held at the University Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Paris, France, from 31 August to 3 September, 2005. The contributions present an extended view of the work in the field, from technical developments and special analytical procedures to various applications. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Knee pain reduces joint space width in conventional standing anteroposterior radiographs of osteoarthritic kneesARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 5 2002Steven A. Mazzuca Objective A suspected, but heretofore undemonstrated, limitation of the conventional weight-bearing anteroposterior (AP) knee radiograph, in which the joint is imaged in extension, for studies of progression of osteoarthritis (OA) is that changes in knee pain may affect extension, thereby altering the apparent thickness of the articular cartilage. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of changes in knee pain of varying magnitudes on radiographic joint space width (JSW) in the weight-bearing extended and the semiflexed AP views, in which radioanatomic positioning of the knee was carefully standardized by fluoroscopy. Methods Fifteen patients with knee OA underwent a washout of their analgesic/nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) agents (duration 5 half-lives), after which standing AP and semiflexed AP knee radiographs of both knees were obtained. Examinations were repeated 1,12 weeks later (median 4.5 weeks, mean 6.0 weeks), after resumption of analgesic/NSAID therapy. Knee pain was measured with the pain subscale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) Index (Likert scale). JSW was measured with a pair of calipers and a magnifying lens. Mixed model analyses of variance were used to test the significance of changes in pain and JSW within and between 2 groups of knees with mild-to-moderate radiographic severity of OA: (a) "flaring knees," in which the patient rated standing knee pain as severe or extreme after the washout and in which pain decreased to any degree after resumption of analgesics and/or NSAIDs (n = 12) and (b) "nonflaring knees," in which standing knee pain was absent, mild, or moderate after the washout or did not decrease after resumption of treatment (n = 15). Results After reinstitution of treatment, WOMAC pain scores decreased significantly in both flaring and nonflaring knees (,44%; P < 0.0001 and ,18%; P < 0.01, respectively). After adjustment for the within-subject correlation between knees, mean JSW (±SEM) in the extended view of the flaring OA knee increased significantly from the first to second examination (0.20 ± 0.06 mm; P = 0.005). In contrast, the change in adjusted mean JSW in the extended view of the nonflaring OA knee was negligible (,0.04 ± 0.04 mm) and significantly smaller than that observed in flaring knees (P < 0.01). Mean JSW in the semiflexed AP view was unaffected by the severity or responsiveness of standing knee pain in flaring and nonflaring OA knees. Conclusion JSW in weight-bearing extended-view radiographs of highly symptomatic OA knees can be altered significantly by changes in joint pain. In clinical trials and in epidemiologic studies of OA progression that use this radiographic technique, longitudinal variations in pain may confound changes in the apparent thickness of the articular cartilage. [source] | ||||||||||